The Vermont Statutes Online

Subchapter
001
:
GENERAL PROVISIONS

(A)
"Consumer" means any person who, for consumption and not for resale,
purchases propane through a meter or has propane delivered to one or more
storage tanks of 2,000 gallons or less.

(B)
"Seller" means a person who sells or offers to sell propane to a
consumer.

(C)
"Terminates service" means that a seller:

(i)
disconnects, removes, or locks off that seller's propane tank;

(ii) reads a
meter with the purpose of terminating service; or

(iii) takes other
action that evidences an intent to terminate a service relationship with a
consumer or evidences knowledge that the consumer requested termination of
service.

(2) The
Attorney General shall investigate irregularities, complaints, and unfair or
deceptive acts in commerce by sellers.

(b) For the
purpose of promoting business practices which are uniformly fair to sellers and
which protect consumers, the Attorney General shall adopt necessary rules,
including notice prior to disconnection, repayment agreements, minimum
delivery, discrimination, security deposits, and the assessment of fees and
charges.

(c)(1) A
violation of this section, or a rule adopted under this section not
inconsistent with this section, shall constitute an unfair and deceptive act in
commerce in violation of section 2453 of this title.

(2) No
contract for propane services shall contain any provision that conflicts with
the obligations and remedies established by this section or by any rule adopted
under this section, and any conflicting provision shall be unenforceable and
void.

(d) A seller
shall not:

(1) assess a
minimum usage fee;

(2) assess a
fee for propane that is not actually delivered to a consumer; or

(3) require a
consumer to purchase a minimum number of gallons of propane per year, except as
part of a guaranteed price plan that meets the requirements of section 2461e of
this title.

(e) When
terminating service to a consumer, a seller shall comply with the following
requirements.

(1)(A) If the
propane storage tank has been located on the consumer's premises, regardless of
ownership of the premises, for 12 months or more, the seller may not assess a
fee related to termination of propane service, including a fee:

(i) to remove
the seller's storage tank from the premises;

(ii) to pump
out or restock propane; or

(iii) to
terminate service.

(B) If a
consumer has received propane service from the seller for less than 12 months,
any fee related to termination of service may not exceed the disclosed price of
labor and materials.

(2) Subject to
subdivision (h)(5) of this section:

(A) Within 20
days of the date when the seller terminates service or is notified by the
consumer in writing that service has been disconnected, whichever is earlier,
the seller shall refund to the consumer the amount paid by the consumer for any
propane remaining in the storage tank, less any payments due the seller from
the consumer.

(B) If the
quantity of propane remaining in the storage tank cannot be determined with
certainty, the seller shall, within the 20 days described in subdivision (2)(A)
of this subsection, refund to the consumer the amount paid by the consumer for
80 percent of the seller's best reasonable estimate of the quantity of propane
remaining in the tank, less any payments due from the consumer. The seller
shall refund the remainder of the amount due as soon as the quantity of propane
left in the tank can be determined with certainty, but no later than 14 days
after the removal of the tank or restocking of the tank at the time of
reconnection.

(3)(A) Any
refund to the consumer shall be by cash, check, direct deposit, credit to a
credit card account, or in the same method or manner of payment that the
consumer, or a third party on the consumer's behalf, used to make payments to
the seller.

(B) Unless
requested by the consumer, a seller shall not provide a refund in the form of a
reimbursement or credit to any account with the seller.

(4) If the
seller fails to mail or deliver a refund to the consumer in accordance with
this subsection, the seller shall within one business day make a penalty
payment to the consumer, in addition to the refund, of:

(A) $250.00 on
the first day after the refund was due; and

(B) $75.00 per
day for each day thereafter until the refund and penalty payment have been
mailed or delivered, provided that the total amount that accrues under this
subdivision (B) shall not exceed 10 times the amount of the refund.

(5)
Termination of service does not void any guaranteed price plan that meets the
requirements of section 2461e of this title that has not expired by its own
terms.

(f)(1) A
seller of propane shall not refuse to deliver propane to a storage tank owned
by a consumer if the consumer provides proof of ownership of the tank and the
seller has conducted a safety check of the tank in accordance with NFPA 54
(National Fuel Gas Code) and NFPA 58 (Storage and Handling of Liquefied
Petroleum Gas Code) of the National Fire Protection Association and complies
with rules adopted by the Attorney General governing propane.

(2) If a seller
of propane chooses to finance a consumer's purchase of a storage tank, the
financing shall be a retail installment sale as provided in chapter 61 of this
title.

(g) Nonpayment
of the following charges may be the only basis for an interruption or disconnection
of service: propane, leak or pressure test, safety check, restart of equipment,
after-hours delivery, special trip for delivery, and meter read.

(h)(1) A
seller who has a duty to remove a propane storage tank from a consumer's
premises shall remove the tank within 20 days or, in the case of an underground
storage tank, within 30 days of the earliest of the following dates:

(A) the date
on which the consumer requests termination of service;

(B) the date
the seller disconnects propane service; or

(C) the date
on which the seller is notified by the consumer in writing that service has
been disconnected.

(2)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, if a
consumer requests that a tank be removed on a specific day, the seller shall
remove the tank no more than 10 days after the date requested, or within the
period required by subdivision (1) of this subsection, whichever is later.

(3) A seller
who fails to remove a propane storage tank in accordance with this subsection
shall make a penalty payment to the consumer of:

(A) $250.00 on
the first day after the tank should have been removed; and

(B) $75.00 per
day for each day thereafter until the tank has been removed and the penalty
payments have been mailed or delivered, provided that the total amount that
accrues under this subdivision (B) shall not exceed $2,000.00.

(4)(A)
Notwithstanding subdivision (3) of this subsection, no penalty shall be due for
the time a seller is unable to remove a tank due to weather or other conditions
not caused by the seller that bar access to the tank, if the seller provides
within five days of the latest date the tank was otherwise required to be
removed:

(i) a written
explanation for the delay;

(ii) what
reasonable steps the consumer must take to provide access to the tank; and

(iii) a
telephone number, a mailing address, and an e-mail address the consumer can use
to notify the seller that the steps have been taken.

(B) The seller
shall have 20 days from the date he or she receives the notice from the
consumer required in subdivision (4)(A)(iii) of this subsection to remove the
tank.

(5) A consumer
who prevents access to a propane storage tank, such that a seller is unable to
timely remove the tank from the property or determine the amount of propane remaining
in the tank in compliance with this section, shall not be entitled to a refund
for propane remaining in the storage tank pursuant to subsection (e) of this
section until the consumer takes the reasonable steps identified by the seller
that are necessary to allow access to the tank and provides notice to the
seller that he or she has taken those steps, in compliance with the process
established in subdivision (4) of this subsection. (Added 1985, No. 34, § 2;
amended 2011, No. 47, § 19a, eff. May 25, 2011; 2013, No. 44, § 1; 2013, No.
111 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 24, 2014; 2015, No. 23, § 90.)